Four years ago, to address disengaged students in Franklin, Tennessee, Williamson County School District turned to an alternative program called the middle-college high school. This concept allows high school students to complete their coursework on a college campus. More than 30 middle-college high schools serve disengaged students nationwide.…

"Twelve Together" is a one-year peer support and mentoring program for middle and early high school students that offers weekly after-school discussion groups led by trained volunteer adult facilitators. Each peer discussion group consists of about 12 participants, who are a mix of students at high risk of academic failure and others at…

The Montana School Accreditation Standards (10.55.603, ARM) require schools to do follow-up studies of graduates and students no longer in attendance. This report provides information on students who graduated or dropped out of Montana public, state-funded and nonpublic, accredited schools during the 2004-05 school year. Students who drop out of…

The author combines principles of cooperative learning where older students at risk of dropping out are recruited to teach violence prevention to younger learners. The secondary students learn problem solving and conflict resolution skills while providing a positive model through cross age peer tutoring.

Too many students are falling through the cracks of our educational system and dropping out of school. A program called Extended-Day School (EDS) was implemented in Franklin County, Tennessee, to help high school students with specific subjects. EDS sought to deal with several problems of at-risk students: fewer study aids, little parent…

This paper examines available information on early identification of students at risk of prematurely dropping out of school. Many factors such as drug use, lowered educational achievement, delinquency, and unemployment appear to be consequences of dropping out, yet cause and effect is often difficult to define. A variety of school related,…

This paper results from the collaborative work of Research for Better Schools, Inc., with the state staffs of Pennsylvania and Maryland on the problem of students at risk. It highlights the ways in which the problem is being defined, the data sets that are being used to suggest the magnitude of the problem, and the studies that are being used to…

In light of the fact that students at risk of dropping out of school have become the focus of national attention, this paper examines one alternative program designed to work with a population considered to be at very high risk for dropping out. The population served by the School-Community Guidance Center (SCGC) in the Austin (Texas) Independent…

Vocational programs offer a clear alternative to students who have difficulty thriving in a traditional academic environment. They are an important part of any effort to keep at-risk youth in school long enough to prepare them for a decent future. (JOW)

This article summarizes the educational challenges facing students from migrant farmworker families. A university-based dropout recovery program has been successful at helping their students leave behind the label of "dropout." (Contains 10 references.) (Author)

Teachers' daily interaction is a powerful influence on at-risk students. Effective dropout prevention components include positive instructional environment, enhancement of self-esteem, alternative education, absence monitoring, mentoring, parent involvement, social and health services, teen parent programs, and transition strategies. (SK)

An Austin (Texas) high school's Credit Plus program accelerates high-risk students by helping them make up credits missed through failure or poor attendance and prepare them for graduation. The program succeeds because of its application and assessment process, low student-teacher ratio, positive physical and mental environment, structured…

Describes scope of current school drop-out problem. Within this context, provides overview and analysis of school drop-out problem among Florida Seminole. Reviews current prevention and remediation strategies for populations at risk. Suggests culturally sensitive strategies for addressing this Seminole problem. (CRR)

A three-year study compared 121 at-risk nursing students participating in Partnership in Learning for Utmost Success (PLUS) and 89 nonparticipating students. PLUS participants were more successful in terms of retention, grade point average, and graduation rate. (SK)

Discusses the increasing dropout rates at many colleges and various efforts by institutions to retain students, including a greater emphasis on smaller "learning communities," special programs for high-risk students, tuition credits, development of early warning systems. Notes, however, that some students and colleges are mismatched and that some…